Love is a Messed up Feeling
by Nonumaru
Summary: Life isn't easy, especially when you're a new girl. What makes it better though, friends, family, a good laugh once in a while and a little bit of onyx.
1. Getting Nice Warm and Fuzzy

I don't own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. Just a fan of the series.

I was getting quite tired of my other stories, naturally it would be fun to make another Naruto fanfic to help me get on track with the others. So I'm writng this one. I thought I'd put part of my friend's personalities in the Naruto characters, because they so closely match it's crazy. Also my friends are, pardon my french, ****ing crazy. This a very similar set-up to my life in fact. I hope you like my fifth fanfic. Enjoy, read, and review always. XD ~Nonumaru

**XXX**

A door slammed open and a blinding light met young sleepy eyes. A yawn escaped the now not still form on the bed. The figure was made out to be a girl with bubble gum pink hair. Her emerald eyes were lazily half lidded. A voice rang out soon after the girl woke up. "Rise and shine sleepy head!"

An auburn haired, stout woman stood in the doorway. Her hair was in a messy bun. She looked at the teenager with amusement, arms folded, leaning on the doorframe.

The girl on the bed let out a groan as she turned to the side a little to much. As a result, she tumbled with an almighty crash to the floor, sheets and all.

The woman let out a hearty laugh while taking time to help the girl up. The brunette sighed, "It is your fault you know, you wanted to wake up early to go to orchestra."

The teenager stared into space, taking her time before answering. "B-but I like playing the cello," the pinkette pouted. Her bottom lip sticking out a mile.

The elder's face was a mixture of love and adoration. The brunette offered her a hand. "Well, get off your lazy butt then. You are going to that new school of yours regardless of whether you're a morning person or not. Come on Sakura."

Sakura as she was called, shook her head as her mom stalked off in a flurry of robe to the kitchen. 'How she manages to wake up this early I'll never know,' she thought. The rosette took care to put on her slippers on the way out. They were nothing special, just a pair of red and green Dreamy Foams from the local department store. She had gotten them for Christmas the year before from her Grandma back in Kumogakure. Where she used to live. But not anymore. The five kages that ruled over their great land had made them move. For her mom wasn't just any mother of 42, she was a ninja. A group of people who lived undercover, and given only the most dangerous jobs. They were a group unknown to the general public.

The last mission her mother had been on had left them both psycologically scarred. So the superiors, as everyone called them, sent them away for a change of scenery. But what happened in the past could never be erased for this newfound family of two. The loss would haunt them every waking moment.

The soft padding footfalls of socked feet and creaking floorboards echoed in the hallway. The lights in the kitchen were on, so Sakura rummaged in the cabinet to find her favorite cereal. Frosted Mini-Wheat's had always been a staple to her diet. The rosette thought them so delicious in fact, that they kept a dozen boxes at a time. Which took up a majority of the small house's cabinet space.

A loud "Clang" sounded as a bowl and a spoon collided with the granite counter. While she poured the milk into her cereal she looked through the small pass through in the wall. Her mom was busily writing the chores for Sakura as well as things to do for the day.

Feeling the daughter's eyes on her the elder asked, "You excited for your first day of eighth grade?"

The rosette almost choked on her own siliva. "It's going to be just peachy I'm sure. All those new people, starting from scratch. Just, delightful."

This earned a chuckle from her mom. "Brighten up Sakura. You'll do fine. You've never had trouble making friends before. Fitting right in should be easy for you. Who knows? You might even get a boyfriend this time."

"Mom!" the pinkette cried, nearly dropping her precious cereal. The elder was on the floor laughing her lungs out. The first time she'd laughed that hard in months.

'I wonder if everything really will go fine.'

**XXX**

It was a dark and stormy, day? The rain fell in pellets as the wind swept through the crowded streets. Rays of artificial light shone brightly from the front of the cars pulling into the parking lot of the school. There were all sorts of makes and models. Toyota Priuses and Dodge Caravans alike. One car however, stood out from the rest. It was a bright orange sports car with black stripes on the sides. The passenger was none other than the famous loudmouth, Uzumaki Naruto.

The second car that pulled up behind the orange one, was another sports car. It's sleek black exterior shined even more with the falling rain. Giving it a more superior touch compared with the other cars. A tall boy stepped out. He was the most popular kid in school, Uchiha Sasuke. The teenager wore straight from the store long blue jeans and polished black shoes. His blackish blue hair was made into his usual D.A.; what his friends called duck's ass, much to his annoyance. Also he wore a navy blue jacket with the Uchiha family crest on the back. Under the jacket was a black, short sleeved t-shirt.

"Hey Sasuke!" The blond shouted from a couple feet away. "Long time no see!"

"I saw you just last weekend dobe," the Uchiha grumbled.

"Oh yeah, I guess you're... right." Naruto scratched his head sheepishly at his stupid comment. They stood in silence for a moment, both waiting for the other to make a move toward the door. The knucklehead shuffled his feet in impatience then inquired, "Are you ready for 8th grade?"

The ravenette shrugged, "It's not like we haven't seen all these people before."

Naruto nodded at the logical comment. He beamed saying, "Well, I guess so!"

As they walked up to the door under a shared umbrella together, a flash of green caught their eyes. "W-what is that?" Naruto stuttered.

Water sprayed all over the two standing teenagers. "That totally ruined the purpose of the umbrella," Sasuke whined, nursing his wet shirt. The sound of rubber on asphalt made the pair look up. A bright pink haired girl left the boys speechless. The blond's eye were saucers. He whistled, "More like, who is she?"

"Hn. Save your breath dobe. She's probably not even in our grade anyway."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, smirking. "That's not what I meant. But if you want to date her and be a pedophile that's fine with me. I want to know who she is that's all. Be friendly for once in your life, teme," he chuckled, elbowing his friend in the ribs.

Sasuke turned a deep shade of red at that. He had to admit the girl locking up her bike was cute. With her short pink hair, red v-neck and dark jeans she was totally his type. 'Ugh! Stop that head! I can't afford you to make me look like an idiot in front of anyone. Especially not any new girl.' So with an impassive appearance on his face, as was his norm, he followed the baka to the rosette.

The blonde rushed over to her with a smile on his face. "My grumpy friend over here and I haven't seen you around here. Are you a new kid?"

The Sakura parted her lips slightly, examining the two boys. Picking up details each one. She learned these usful tricks from her mom during the little freetime she had. There were a few moments silence until the pinkette rendered the pair harmless. "Yeah I'm new here," she smiled, "who are you guys?"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and this is my best friend Uchiha Sasuke," the knucklehead replied gesturing to the ravenette with a hand. "What's your name?"

She beamed from ear to ear. It was almost a smirk smile because it leaned more on one side than the other. "It is nice to meet you two. My name is Haruno Sakura."

"What a pretty name, and pretty clothes too." Naruto was transfixed by the girl. Sasuke could tell he had developed an instant crush.

"Oh," she laughed. It was a hearty sound, like of bells on Christmas day. A very pleasant and sweet to hear. Once she finished locking up her bike she turned to face Naruto and Sasuke. "Well ya know, the devil wears prada," she teased, winking and clicking her toungue simultaniously.

The Uchiha couldn't help but crack a grin as Sakura strutted off. 'That girl sure is interesting.'

**XXX**

Sakura forgot to go to the orientation, so she was stuck going to the office for her schedule, locker number, and combo. White tiles covered the floor into the office. At the desk sat a lady seemingly in her late 30's. She had highlighted brown hair and rich chocolate brown eyes that drew you in. The one thing out of place was the amount of purple eyeshadow on her eyelids. It was a lot more than a lady her age should be wearing. The name plate on her desk read Mary-Kate Rin. Little did the rosette know that she'd see that same name plate many times in the future. Looking up from her computer screen, M.K. saw the teenager in front of her. "Oh! You must be the new arrival to the school. Hi my name is Mary-Kate Rin. But you can just call me Ms. Rin." Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but Rin beat her to it. "No need," she chuckled, "you stopped in here for your locker number and combo right? Wait for a minute I have it in the back."

The rosette just stood there as still as a statue. 'Well that was... weird. I wonder why me being new here is such a big deal.'

Out of her perifrial vision a teen her age shuffled into the office, huffing and puffing. Almost as if she had been out jogging. The outfit was of nike dri-fit material in a light blue color. She had beautiful ivory skin without a blemish. Her hair was rolled up into twin buns high on her head. She had her hands on her knees, trying desprately to catch her breath. "Oh god I better not be late dammit. I got to get to band." Seeing Sakura the girl paled and raised an eyebrow. 'Well she's new, Ino is not going to be happy. This one seems like Sasuke material.' The brown haired teen straightened her back, earning a healthy crack. "Hey you," she pointed a finger at the rosette, "What time is it?"

Sakura checked her silver watch, "Ummm 7:25?"

The girl's eyes became extremely wide. "Sorry, Adios, Gotta go!" she started, before dashing out of the room.

'Geez, what was that about? She could have at least told me her name,' the rosette thought, scratching the back of her head in bewilderment.

**XXX**

The pinkette cello player let out a sigh. 'I really hope I'm not to terribly late. I don't want to be like my mom.'

Sakura's mother had a tendacy to procrastinate and go at a less than snail's pace. When she was on swim team at her old school, she had to get her mother up 20 minutes before practice just to get there on time. It was absolutely infuriating. Sadly, now she was pulling a Haruno.

Orchestra practice, the rosette was told, took place in the cafeteria. Small red floor tiles and light brown wood walls lead into the massive room. Various doors which held pantries as well as the janitor's offices were wide open. 'Aren't they afraid a kid will come in there and steal something?'

Moments later she entered. Her heart was beating like an 8o8 drum, palms sweating like mad. 'Here it goes.'

**XXX**

1) Read my author's notes please! They are short and really not that boring. You can spare five second of your life.

2) For those of you who are new to my stories, I always put what music I'm listening to while writing. I play piano and cello so music is a big part of my life. So, during this chapter I listened to I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz The Climb by Miley Cyrus and I Write Sins not Tradegies by Panic! At the Disco.

Fun Fact about me) I am actually obsessed with Shredded Mini-Wheats. I eat them every morning. They are something I'll never get tired of.

3) Tell me what you think! I know this first chappie is kinda boring, but that's cause I have to do the summary ect.


	2. Whatcha Gonna do When They Come for You

I don't own Naruto in any way, shape or form. Just a fan of the series. Duh ;)

I forgot to do the speech meanings in the first chapter. Gomen! Even though they're pretty standard, I figure I better do it now.

"regular speech"

'thoughts'

**"Sakura's inner"** (she will be brought in later in the story)

I really love this story. This is nearing the end of the first day. Voila! You have been introduced to her school life. Yes, Sakura is a bit of a pessimist, but she is under a lot of pressure remember. Please forgive my ranting. I realized this would've become my longest chappie on record if I had added the second part now. So it is going to be two seperate chapters. Enjoy, read and review always!

_"I'm just your average ordinary, everyday, superhero. I'm trying to save the world. Though you don't know it yet."_

**XXX**

When Sakura looked up, everyone was staring. The worse part was the lingering eyes were directed at her. The orchestra director beamed. Her spicky purple hair lit up the room. Also, her lack of modesty with her clothing didn't scream teacher material. To make up for it though, her voice was sassy yet had a ring of authority to it. "It looks like we have a new student in our year. Hi I'm Miss Anko, it is nice to meet you," she said, the last part directed at Sakura. She paused, tapping her baton on her music stand. "You and Neji are the only 8th grade cellos. So," Miss. Anko continued, "since I don't know your full talent, you will be second chair for now, alright."

Sakura nodded, eyes downcast towards the pristine, white tile floor. The purplette's voice rang through the wide expance of room once again. A soft click was heard as she set her baton down on the stand. "Are you just gonna stand there like a stiff tree or come over hear and show us what you got." A couple kids in the ensemble snickered.

The rosette looked up and saw the cafeteria fully for the first time as she walked over. Nearly fifty students all in different styles of clothing sat lounging on their chairs or standing up. The bass section was carelessly leaning against the wall for support, so they wouldn't have to hold up their heavy instruments the whole time. Miss Anko came across to Sakura as carefree, because her old German Orchestra teacher would sure give them a chiding if she saw them doing that. The cello section was plentiful. With just over twelve kids, they exceded the size of the viola section by half. The person who was supposedly Neji had very long hair for a boy. 'It isn't every day you see a guy like that with such long l_uscious_ hair,' the pinkette thought. She eternally laughed, 'He looks kind of stuck up haha. One of those people that are fun to mess with.'

As for the viola section, their mouths were hanging open so wide in fatigue that you could stick a fish in there and they probably wouldn't notice. The second violins were half asleeep. The younger ones tounges lolled out of their lips from boredom. The older ones did the best they could to find a place to prop their heads so they wouldn't fall over. Of course the first voilins, like perfect little students had their backs straight, and instruments in attention position.

When Sakura got back to her chair, squashed between Neji and an unnamed viola, the long haired teen huffed. No matter how soft that stoic voice was, she could still hear it. "Huh. You better be good."

'I can't let a jerk like that get to me,' Sakura reasoned. The rosette retorted just as quietly. "I'm sure you're not the one to determine that. Wait, of course you aren't."

Neji turned to the pinkette, giving her the most incredulous look known to man. She silently sniggered, 'Score: Sakura one, Neji zero.'

**XXX**

Heading back to her nearly empty locker through the throng of passing students wasn't easy. In fact it was unusual for her. Before coming to Kohona, Sakura had went to a private school. Everyone had the same rules. They walked on the right side of the hallway, and listened to their mentors. Here it was simply chaos.

The rosette bumped into a couple people, sputtering half assed apologies. She eternally sighed, 'It is going to be really hard for me to get used to this.' Finally in sight of her locker, she pushed through the last cluster of students then ran straight into something warm and, fuzzy? It smelled like Axe shampoo. 'Oh dear.'

A gruff yet kind voice came from the thing or person she had run into. "I hope you don't mind. Can you get out of my hair? People are starting to stare."

Staggering back, Sakura stuttered, "U-um I'm sooo sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." The teen she had run into wore large sunglasses. Ones that he didn't need in this stormy weather. For a shirt, he wore a green turtleneck with the neck part so long it covered most of his face. He was so covered that barely any skin was left to the sun.

Instead of answering, her locker buddy stomped off. His afro half squashed on one side. 'Hm, that's what I ran into,' the pinkette thought, plopping her head in her hand in exasperation. 'This is going to be a _very_ long day.'

**XXX**

Fishing in her pocket, the schedule from earlier was still there. She took it out even though she didn't need to read it again. Her photographic memory was flawless, though in the short term memory department she needed some work. The piece of paper read...

1st period: Gym (Mr. Gai)

2nd period: Art (Mr. Sasori), Music (Mr. Orochimaru), Computer Lit. (Mrs. Kurenai), FCS (Mr. Deidara)

3rd period: English REACH 1 (Mr. Asuma) 

4th period: English REACH 2 (Mr. Asuma)

5th period: Lunch

6th period: French (Mr. Genma)

7th period: Science (Ms. Tsunade)

8th period: Math (Mr. Nara)

9th period: Soc. Studies (Mr. Jiraya)

'Well, first up is gym, let's see how that goes, shall we?' the pinkette thought, rounding the corner into her homeroom class. Bright smile plastered on her face.

Homeroom was only three minutes, so she didn't get the opportunity to talk to anyone. In some ways, that was a blessing. It was only two hours into her day and she was already beginning to feel exahausted. The growing fatigue was starting to show. Constantly bumping into random objects in the hall just added to prove her own point.

After many "Oopses, sorries," and "pardons" she finally made it. Heavy wood doors clad in stainless steel handles opened to reveal an average sized gym. One with a well polished floor as well as ceilings high enough to house the green giant, whoever that was.

Not to her satisfaction she was one of the last to arrive in the gym. 'Why am I not surprised.'

Kids were milling around, catching up with aquantances they hadn't seen over the summer. Sakura caught sight of the attractive raven and blond best friend conversing in a throng of students. She smiled slightly, 'They seem happy, I wish-'

She didn't have time to finish that though as someone interrupted, "Hey you!" Sakura looked up to see a blond haired, fair skinned girl gazing at her with a predatory growl. "What are you looking at? It better not be at what I think it is." She had baby blue eyes that complemeted her ivory complection perfectly. A couple girls in other friend groups cowered at the sound of her mere voice.

The rosette gave the sassy blond another once over. "Right now, I'm not looking at anything special," Sakura stated, managing to remain impassive. Simultaniously she put her hands in her jeans pockets.

The girl sputtered taking two staggering steps back. A couple people silently cheered. Some random girl in the crowd cried, "Did she really just say that to Ino?" Best of all she had gotten the attention of the whole gym plus Sasuke and Naruto. The Uchiha shook his head, trying to surpress a smile. The knucklehead couldn't help but giggle.

'Oh, so that's her name. Hm, pig," Sakura thought a bitch smirk plastered on her features.

"You're gonna get it later bitch!" Ino screeched, pulling slightly curled locks out in frustration. Some teen girls in the crowd gasped. A big chested black haired girl stepped up from behind the blond. She tugged on her shirt alerting her, "Um, Ino?" She pointed to a very angry gym teacher who had his arms folded.

"I am truly disgusted at the behavior being displayed by you Ino. I THOUGHT YOU WERE A GOOD STUDENT OF MIIIIIIINE!" the man cried. He broke down in tears. As for looks he had the ugliest haircut the pinkette had ever seen. It was bowl cut and sweaty which didn't help in the appearance department. In addition he wore a stretchy green spandex suit with a brown belt in the middle. It looked almost as if he was a kid trying to play superhero.

"Save me the shame! Please! Despite you being the star volleyball player last year, I'll have to ask you to make your way to the office," he added. Mr. Gai wiped access tears away from his face. When she left door slamming behind her, he brightened up by 200%. Even though that wasn't mathematically possible, oh god, this guy seemed to push the limits on her reality of what a gym teacher was. He gave a blinding smile, brighter than the sun on a mid summer morn, as well as giving a huge thumbs up. "Alright kiddos lets get started with Gai workout part one!" Everyone groaned. Sakura just raised an eyebrow, sighing.

'This is going to be a very, very, _very_ long day indeed.'

**XXX**

1) Anything or any characters or people you want me to add to this story just say the word. :)

2) During this chapter I was listening to** Hello by Karmin, Knock You Down by Keri Hilson and One Step at a Time by Jordin Sparks**.

3) If you are a fan of my other story, N&H Akkipuden, I have a poll on my profile page I'd like you to take. It is so I can get an idea on how many people want a sequel. I'd really apprechiate it.

4) I didn't feel like writing their last names so I just put the teachers first names instead. *shrug*


	3. Stroke into the new Life

I don't own Naruto in any way, shape or form. Just a fan of the series.

During this chapter you'll be introduced to my world of swim team. This is a longer chappie than usual. Enjoy, read and review always!

**XXX**

Gym was hell. The whole Class was forced to do some pointless workout called INSANITY; when the only "insane" thing about it was annoying. The instructor kept looking up the athletes asses during the workout. Afterward they got no time to cool down, so Sakura was practically sweating on her way to English.

For the first day they skipped Unified Arts classes. The school board figured the students would get used to their schedule better that way.

Next up was two greuling periods of words and ACES prompts. 'Oh joy!' Sakura thought sarcastically, bumping into yet another haphazard object.

Finally arriving at the designated english room she sat at a random desk, noticing she was the first one there. Not to her surprise though, because the room stank like the stench of cigarette smoke, as well as apples and cinnamon trying to cover it up.

Finding nothing else better to do, the rosette opened a book she had started during the summer. To say it was huge was an understatement. The one instalment itself exceeded 800 pages. The title read "Burn Notice: A Novel" in massive gold letters. She heard someone approach, looking over at her from across the pod of desks. "You seem to be popping up everywhere today. Don't you?"

Sakura giggled not glacing up from her book even once. "I get around." Then she closed her book with a soft thud. Making another resounding clang as it hit the desk. "You're Sasuke right?"

He nodded afferemative. A short "Hn," coming out as the only answer. Afterwards she thought she saw a ghost of a smile come upon his face. 'It is probably just my mind playing tricks on me,' she reasoned.

In a matter of minutes the whole class filled up. Leaving only the teacher to make it there to class. At the last moment, a man trundled in. He was gritting his teeth as if missing something in the caverns of his mouth. This man was none other than Sir Asuma himself.

Without a word to the class before him he hurried over to his large desk, opening a drawer. From Sakura's perch near the left side of the room she could tell it was filled with packs upon packs of flavored gum. She marveled at it just like the rest of the students in her class. Some teenagers were even leaning over their self proclaimed desks to see. 'That's enough to keep the whole student body going for a week,' she marveled.

Once Mr. Asuma had popped two slivers of gum into his mouth, he sighed. His shoulders relaxed, becoming less tense. Sighing he slurred, "Ahh that's better." Then, and only then, did he get a good look at his staring pupils.

Sakura could've sworn she heard crickets chirping.

A tall chubbier kid about her own height broke the silence. He wore brown and tan plaid shorts, a matching t-shirt with what looked to be the Kohona Swim Team logo on it. "Um, sir? Don't you think you have enough gum?" About half the class sniggered, but this teen didn't seem to mean it as a joke. A quarter sighed rubbing the back of their necks in irritation, and the final quarter rolled their eyes. One person even blurted, "Oh Garebear! Seriously?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. 'What the hell? What kind of screwy pet-name is that?'

Garebear put his hands on his knees, turning to the kid who interjected. He said in defense, "That was a legit question Jeremy."

The person who the rosette figured was Jeremy scoffed. He had short blond hair and an air of arrogance about him. A simple hockey shirt and shorts were what he wore, with the addition of sandals and socks. "Every question you ask is legit Garrett. Oh geez."

Mr. Asuma, noticing he was becoming news of the past, cleared his throat. "Now, now lets not fight on the first day of school guys." The interesting teacher was nonchalantly leaning on his desk eyes appearing to look straight through them. "And to to answer your question "all knowing one", smoking is bad for you. If you start you never quit."

The class blinked owlishly at him giving expressions like, 'Duh, we already knew that moron.'

He continued after shuffling through a great stack of papers. "Okay, before I annoy you to death, lets see the seating chart shall we?" Sakura zoned out, not necessarily caring about where she would be seated. That was until she heard her name called, in a row of desks next to none other than Sasuke Uchiha himself.

**XXX**

Naruto had been, by far, the strangest person he had ever met up until that day. Maybe that was why they were best friends, although the stoic teen would never admit it. Sakura blew that record to smithereens. Slowly shattering his hold on reality for reasons he could not comprehend. So when he heard his name being said after the pinkette's he perked up a little. Noticing his face was contorted, he restored it to its usual impassivity. Sasuke had only known her for a few hours at most, but that was enough to intrigue the hell out of him.

'What social group does she belong in?' he wondered. So far, he didn't think she would be popular. She didn't show off tons of skin, or stick her head in a book every waking second. Basing it off of that, the Uchiha had no flipping idea. 'Guess I'll just have to find out for myself.'

The rosette plopped her books down and put her foot up on the side of the desk like she owned the thing. 'She seems quite relaxed for a girl in her first day at a new school,' he thought while putting his own materials away.

Asuma turned the students attention back to the front by whistling briefly, a flick of the wrist attracting everyones eyes.

Sasuke scrunched up his nose in disgust, 'What are we, dogs?'

"Now that you're nice and comfortable, I'd like to get to know you guys a little better. So, you and your elbow partener will interview each other." Mr. A leaned over his desk slightly picking up a stack of white papers. "Once you get these I'll give you all twenty minutes to fill it out."

Garrett immediatly sat up, raising his hand high in the air. "Is this graded?"

Asuma scrunched up his face in confusion, "Well of course not."

Jeremy chuckled, "It IS the first day, oh holy smart one. You crazy?"

Before they could get any further in the argument the teacher finished passing out papers. He took out a clock shaped timer and set it to the desired time. "Ready, start!"

There was a moment of silence between Sakura and Sasuke, full of nervous shuffling and sheepish scratching of heads. "Sooooo…" the rosette started, "I already know your name, so how about we start with favorite food."

She got out a yellow number two pencil, positioning her hand to write. "Tomatoes."

Sakura raised her eyebrows, "Um, alright. Color?"

"Navy blue."

This continued on until they switched roles. Sasuke was eager to get on with it to get to know this certian mysterious girl better.

**XXX**

The remaining part of her day was pretty uneventful. At lunch the pinkette hadn't sat with anyone, but as close to as the teacher's table as possible. She thought it was to ambarassing to be the only lonely one in the crowd. 'Hopefully someone will ask me to sit at their table tomorrow so I won't have to ask,' Sakura thought, exiting the school building. Since it was still cold and rainy she had a black trench coat over her v-neck. The crisp wind whipped at her ears and neck, billowing her short pink hair into a frenzy. 'It will be interesting to see what will happen tonight.'

**XXX**

The familiar pungent aroma of chlorine filled the rosette's nose as she walked through the side door of the school. It had been a week or two since she had last swam, but he atmosphere welcomed her just the same. Giving her a sense of comfort in a world of impossible cases. Like a baby to its blanket, a cat to its kitten.

The hall was short so reached the locker rooms with much ease. Two middle aged ladies, in their late forties were sitting next to a packet of names, conversing. They saw her approach. A lady who Sakura would soon come to know as Mrs. Siavelis asked, "What would be your name darling?"

"I'm Haruno Sakura," the pinkette swimmer replied sheepisly. She went of nervously fiddle with her bag.

"Oh yes," Mrs. S stated. Marking her name off with a yellow sharpie highlighter. "You are set to go."

Sakura opened the white door and immidiatly heard screams, laughs and talking alike from the people inside. One noise two younger girls made resided in a volume above the rest. Decibals per inch was off the charts. "Rainbow, Connection, Fashizzle, ready and che che che che che, FIERCE!" As the rosette rounded the corner the two short boisterous girls were seen. Doing what looked like a handshake. At the time feirce was said the wiggled their fingers in front of their face. Nearly similar to a curtain opening at a concert of some sort. The shorter of the two girls had strawberry blond hair and a big attitude Sakura deduced, by the way she walked at talked. Her eyes were a small shade of light blue. The second girl who was laughing the hardesthad brown hair tied in a ponytail. She had eyes similar to her average hair color.

Soon after their little performance, a blond haired girl made her way around Sakura. She was in khaki shorts and a t-shirt that read "Kohona Swim Team" with the logo. It also read in smaller letters read "Championship Team" on the back. She walked up to the pair, chiding them, "How many times must you do that stupid-"

The little strawberry blond spitfire screached back, pointing a finger, "Don't you dare call it stupid!"

"Yeah!" the brunette agreed, sticking out her toungue. "It's awesome, and everyone knows it." The pair gave each other high fives, while the blond looked on sighed shaking her head.

"I hope you don't mind," Sakura wondered, "I'm new to the team so it would be nice to know your names."

"Oh sorry, I thought a girl with pink hair staring at us was a little out of place. Hi I'm Ciara, and this is my biffle," she gestured to the brunette, "Delaney."

At the subject of introductions the blond smiled and waved. "I'm Jessica. Everyone calls me Levy though."

"Ok! Yes as you said Ciara, I am new in town. It is nice to meet you. My name is Sakura Haruno. Do you mind if I ask you your ages?"

"We are all in sixth grade," the spitfire answered, puffing her chest out proudly.

Sakura just stared. Gazing at the blond for support. "Is she really? No offence, but you are the height of a third grader."

"She shits you not," Levy replied. "I wouldn't underestimate her swimming skills though. Or heck, you'll be sorry."

Ciara laughed, "You know what this calls for Delaney?" The blond facepalmed as they started the handshake yet again. Sakura had no idea, that it would soon become a common occurance for her to hear.

**XXX**

The pool deck was covered in white and dull blue tiles. Bleachers, on both ends of the pool were green and white like the school colors. One sat at the shallow end of the pool, for the slower swimmers. The other at near the deep end, for the faster swimmers and highschoolers who's season hadn't started yet. 'Where should I go?' On the last team Sakura had been swimming with the highschoolers because she was the best in her age group. That was partially because of her height. Being tall did have it's perks sometimes. Still, she didn't feel like inviting herself to either side. In her perifrial vision, another girl she had met earlier came to her peepers. 'That's the girl with her hair in two buns. I wonder if I'll learn her name now that she's on the same swim team as me.'

The pinkette had been so caught up in her thoughts that she did not notice another figure coming her way. He was another father looking figure with slightly greying black hair, and deep black eyes. Creeping up on her, he whispered, "Boo."

Sakura jumped a step back, letting out a sqeek, clutching her chest. "Geez, don't scare me like that."

The man chuckled heartily, "Hehe, I'm Fugaku, Sasuke Uchiha's, and that idoit's father." He pointed into the throng of older swimmers, at another ravenette with black eyes, but with hair in a neat ponytail. "You must be the Haruno girl my younger son has been talking about."

"He told you about me?" Sakura asked incredulously.

Fugaku laughed, "Well he sure did. I guess you made quite an impression. He never does that. Then again you do have pink hair…"

"Hey!" the rosette pouted crossing her arms. She acted like little girl who wasn't allowed to get her favorite flavor of lollipop.

"Your old swim coach told me a lot about you." Seeing the petrified emotion on his pupil's face he added, patting her back, "And I liked what I heard."

Sakura visibily relaxed, for the first time looking her new coach in the eyes. "What side of the pool would you like me to go in Mr Uchiha?"

"Well the deep end of course. Does lane two sound good to you? Hey," Mr. U declared, "that rhymes!"

Sakura giggled, "Just fine with me." Heading over to the bleachers. Not knowing where to go she sat next to the brunette she'd seen earlier in the office. "Hey," she said trying to start some small talk with her fellow athlete.

The girl replied with a small, "Hi," scratching her arm in discomfort.

Sakura scrunched up her face in comfusion. "Uhhh I never caught your name this morning."

"Oh sorry, it's Ten-ten, I was in a bit of a hurry before..." she faltered, averting her eyes.

"I could see that." To break up the tension she added, "I have your same exact problem."

Ten-ten looked up a ghost of a smile, twinkling in her brown eyes. She flailed her arms in the air in mock exasperation. "Don't we all?"

The pair laughed until the coach called out names. It was then Sakura thought, 'This might not be such a bad day after all.'

**XXX**

1) I'm so glad I was able to get this chapter out with my busy and ever stressful schedule. *major sigh*

2) During this chapter I was listening to Play Dead by The Birthday Massacre, Hang On by Smash Mouth and Die Young by Kesha.

3) Just a question for you peeps out in reviewer land. Since it is around the holiday season I thought this would be appropriate. What is your favorite holiday? My favorite is Thanksgiving.


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